Starry Spring-Welcoming Night
by TwinklingCupcake
Summary: Won's farming family celebrates both their holidays at the same time. [Slice-of-life domestic fluff]


_My darling Won,_

 _It does grieve me that we cannot be together this Spring-Welcoming Festival season. But as I'm sure you know, I haven't seen Auntie in ages, and a ticket to both Tsuyukusa and Mineral Town is too costly._

 _I know you offered to pay for both tickets, but I cannot let your family do that in good conscience._

 _And I cannot force little Mei to board a plane or a boat to come to Zhongguo. Remember, you used to hate both the plane and the ferry when you were her age?_

Won chuckled as he looked over the letter, carefully inked on white paper that was stapled to red construction paper. Of course he remembered. But his mother never minded his complaints, and instead slipped him ginger candy and gum. He thought of teasing her in his response about how she didn't subject Mei to the same fate she gladly put him through.

But he decided against it. Mei was her granddaughter, after all, and grandchildren were often spoiled.

Though to be fair, he wouldn't force her on a plane either. Wasn't fair to Mei.

Shaking his head, he continued to read.

 _Tell Mei that I have received her drawing, and it has a place of honor at my bedside desk. She's getting so good at her crayons; she'll be a little Bu Hua, I can feel it!_

 _Enclosed is New Year's money for her, remind her not to spend it all at once._

 _I hope that you and Claire have a Happy Spring-Welcoming Festival, and I pray for good fortune and health for the three of you. Let's try to get together next year!_

 _Love,_

 _Mother_

"Bàba, Bàba look!" Mei called from the table. She held up a small paper lantern, decorated with apples. "I'm done, look!"

Won smiled fondly, setting the letter on the side table before crossing the room to Mei. He kissed the top of her head, taking the lantern from her. "It looks splendid, Mei. We'll put the candle in it tomorrow, okay?"

Mei nodded, beaming. "'kay!"

"Mei, sweetie, would you put the Harvest Goddess on the fireplace for me?" Claire said. She stood in the kitchen, carefully stirring the porridge for the next morning. When it had been just Won celebrating, he prepared it the day of, but Claire wanted as much time together as a family as possible in the morning. And she couldn't have that if she was cooking.

Claire inclined her head towards a corner of the room. "The step stool is over there for you."

"Okay, Māma!" Mei climbed down from her chair, gently taking the Harvest Goddess doll as she did.

It was a simple doll, made of cotton and stuffed with fluff. Green yarn and thread made her hair, and tiny little beads had been sewn in for her eyes. A far cry from Won's porcelain one that he kept safe in a display box, but at least if Mei dropped her she wouldn't break.

Maybe he'd take the porcelain one out when Mei turned ten in three years. Or thirteen.

Mei pushed her step stool against the stone of the fireplace, climbed up and set the doll atop the mantle next to the polished apples and framed calligraphy. She pushed one of the apples closer to the doll, both as an offering and for a support. "Here's your píngguǒ, Harvest Goddess! Please bless our family," she recited. "Make us happy and healthy and...and uh..."

"And want for nothing," Won supplied.

"And want for nothing!"

When Won had celebrated this on his own, he had always prayed for happiness, health, and wealth. But in the past few years, since his marriage to Claire and having Mei, to be exact, he'd changed the last part to 'want for nothing.' Incredible wealth wasn't important, he decided, only that he had enough to live comfortably and feed the family. Between his own business and Claire's thriving farm, that wouldn't be a problem.

* * *

"Ready?"

Mei nodded, a tight, fearful expression on her face. Won tugged on her winter coat to make sure it was closed properly, then took Mei's hand. "We'll be right back, Claire."

Claire sighed, rolling her eyes in exasperated affection as she started setting the table. "Alright. Remember, Mei, we had two chicks born yesterday."

"M...m-hm..." Mei nodded, looking even more anxious than ever.

Won pushed the door open, letting in a blast of icy air and snow flurries. The wind made the paper chains and lanterns decorating their house jostle and sway a bit, but they held fast. Quickly but carefully, he ushered Mei outside and shut the door behind them.

They did this every year since she was three, on the Starry Night Festival just before dinner. Won and Claire had tried to explain to her that the chickens were all fine, that Claire ordered the chicken special from the next town over, from a man who specifically bred eating chickens, but Mei could never be dissuaded. She wouldn't be satisfied until she made sure their chickens were all safe.

When they entered the chicken house, all the chickens began clucking loudly and swarmed over to them. Mei shrieked in delight, waving a few floating feathers away from her face. "Okay... Okay, okay!" she laughed, taking a step back away from the mob.

Won knelt down to Mei's level. "Make sure everyone's here."

"Okay! Okay, uhm..." Mei's face scrunched up as she looked around at her 'feather buddies.' "Violet, Fěnsè, Chéngsè, Goldie, Verde... oh!" She pointed out the two fluffy yellow chicks nestled against their mothers. "Lán Sè and Mei The Chicken! Everyone's here, Bàba!" she announced, turning her face towards Won.

"See, Māma _told_ you she'd never make one of our chickens for dinner."

"I know but... I wanna make _really_ sure!"

Won tossed some chicken feed to the floor before taking Mei's hand and leaving again. "And you especially know that Māma would never do anything to Mei The Chicken," he added with a wry smile.

Mei had gotten to name that one. He'd been expecting her to follow the color theme he and his wife had been. But she'd apparently had other plans.

"I just wanna make _sure_!" Mei repeated. A pause. "Is it _really_ okay to eat chicken today?"

"Of course it is! It's Zhongguo tradition." Won said with an air of pride.

"Nobody at Mary's library eats chicken on the Starry Night Festival."

"Well, nobody else at the library celebrates it with the Zhongguo Spring-Welcoming Festival either," Won pointed out. "You get a special, unique holiday all your own."

They reached the front door, decorated with a calligraphy symbol for 'prosperity.' The decoration swung a bit when they pushed the door open, making Won think of his own decorations at home with his mother. They didn't do Starry Night Festival there. Well, plenty of people _did_ , but it was mostly in the large cities with skyscrapers and electronic billboards, and they were often private affairs between lovers.

Families celebrated the Spring-Welcoming Festival instead, with apples and feasts and paper lanterns and paper chains and dolls to honor the Harvest Goddess.

He saw no reason to stop celebrating just because he moved to Mineral Town. And when he was seeing Claire, he especially saw no reason why they couldn't combine their holidays instead.

Claire was putting the bean curd on the table when they entered the kitchen, sans winter coats and boots. "You're right on time," she said, straightening up and wiping her brow. "Thanks for making the curd, Won."

"No thanks necessary. I'll teach you next time."

"Well, then thanks for making everything else." Claire smiled wryly. "All I had to do was the porridge and reheat everything."

Won shrugged, smiling sheepishly.

"Māma works too hard to cook _everything_ ," Mei said, as if she'd heard him say it a hundred times every year.

Which she had.

While Claire sat down, Won took a second to take in the decor of their home, the food on the table. Red paper chains and paper lanterns hung from the ceiling with specialty tape, the light catching them and making them give off a rosy halo as they swayed slightly in the air. Mei's Harvest Goddess doll sat atop the mantel with apples for good fortune. They had their calligraphy on the door, the letters and cards arranged neatly on the side table, and Mei had her sock (red) already hung up and waiting for tomorrow night.

Tonight they'd eat chicken, fish, bean curd and vegetables, and apple pie. Tomorrow they'd take the apples to the Harvest Goddess's spring for the personal offerings, call Mei's grandmother, and feast all over again with the TV in the background. Mei and Claire would have their socks filled, they'd eat with friends, and the day after that they'd clean house and sweep dust out the door to symbolize 'out with the old, in with the new.'

They were a truly lucky family, he thought to himself.

"Alright," he said aloud. "Let's eat!"


End file.
